9.2 PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT – FACE AND EYE PROTECTION

 "A BLS study found that about 60 percent of workers who suffered eye injuries were not wearing eye protective equipment." 

As indicated in the previous general introductory section 9 concerning Personal Protective Equipment  (PPE), use of PPE is the last line of defense in controlling exposure to harmful substances or projectiles and should be used when other methods fail to provide adequate protection or can not be used. PPE, be it in the form of safety glasses or full face shields, merely provides a barrier between a hazard and the worker and does not remove the hazard from the environment. 

With this in mind, as well as the knowledge that accidents do occur on the job, face and eye safety/protection are very important to all of Maine Maritime Academy’s employees. The following policy, written in accordance and intended to fully comply with OSHA 29 CFR 1910.133(a) concerning eye and face protection (Maine Maritime Academy as a public entity is actually regulated by the State of Maine Bureau of Labor Standards), will be effective as of October 1, 1997. 

Employees at Maine Maritime Academy shall be required to wear appropriate eye and/or face protection whenever the work situation includes, but is not limited to, such things as using cleaning chemicals, painting, sanding, grinding, cutting, whether it is metal, wood or grass, etc., dictates the use of protective equipment. Furthermore, the Director of Safety and Security, the Director of Administrative Operations and Compliance, the Director of Human Resources, or any supervisor may require employees in their units to wear eye or face protection at any other time deemed suitable or necessary. The additional OSHA information contained in this policy is intended to clarify the need for eye and face protection. 

Any full time Maine Maritime Academy employee who wears protection spectacles or goggles receives his/her supervisor’s approval that protective eyewear is indeed required on their job. If the employee chooses to purchase their own ANSI compliant safety eyewear, they will be eligible for a biannual reimbursement of $60.00 (November 1 of every other year). Employees choosing to continue using Academy issued safety glasses or goggles will be allowed to continue this practice and will not be eligible for the biannual reimbursement. The employee’s supervisor will be responsible for stipulating the appropriate type eye wear (i.e., spectacles with eye shields, brow shields, splash goggles, etc.) that the employee should purchase. 

Part time employees and student workers will be issued an initial pair of safety glasses and/or goggles by their supervisor (i.e. Port Captain on the ship), which will be paid for by the Academy. They will not be eligible for reimbursement if they decide to purchase their own safety glasses, but will be eligible for replacement glasses upon returning damaged glasses. Lost or misplaced safety glasses and/or goggles will be the responsibility of the part time employee or student worker. 

Employees affected by this policy are expected to have their protective eyewear available at all times during work periods and are responsible for the care and maintenance of such equipment. Employees electing to use Academy issued safety goggles or glasses will be issued replacements as necessary due to normal wear or work-related breakage upon returning the damaged pair. Replacements due to lost or misplaced eyewear will be the sole responsibility of the employee. However, should an employee lose or forget their safety glasses or goggles, generic safety glasses/goggles will be available from his or her supervisor for a $10 fee, which will be automatically vouchered through a payroll deduction. Employees electing to purchase their own approved safety eyewear may be eligible for replacements due to damage under provisions of the existing collective bargaining agreement.

OSHA requires employers to provide a type of protector suitable for work to be performed and employees must use the protectors. These stipulations apply also to supervisors, management personnel, and should apply to visitors while they are in hazardous areas. Each eye, face, or face-and-eye protector is designed for a particular hazard. In selecting the protector, consideration should be given to the kind and degree of hazard, and the protector should be selected on that basis. Safety spectacles require special frames. Combinations of normal street wear frames with safety lenses are not in compliance. Eye protection with side protectors is required where there is a hazard from flying objects. Workers who wear contact lenses must wear eye protection over the lenses. Only someone skilled in the procedure should do fitting of goggles and safety spectacles. Prescription safety spectacles should be fitted only by qualified optical personnel. 


It is essential that the lenses of eye protectors be kept clean. Continuous vision through dirty lenses can cause eyestrain - - often an excuse for not wearing the eye protectors. Daily inspection and cleaning of the eye protector with soap and hot water, or with a cleaning solution and tissue, is recommended.  

Specifically, OSHA stipulates that: 

"(a) General. (1) Protective eye and face equipment shall be required where there is a reasonable probability of injury that can be prevented by such equipment. In such cases, employers shall make conveniently available a type of protector suitable for the work to be performed, and employees shall use such protectors. No unprotected person shall knowingly be subjected to a hazardous environmental condition. Suitable eye protectors shall be provided where machines or operations present the hazard of flying objects, glare, liquids, injurious radiation, or a combination of these hazards. (2) Protectors shall meet minimum outlined requirements. (3) Persons whose vision requires the use of corrective lenses in spectacles, and who are required by this standard to wear eye protection, shall wear goggles or spectacles: (i) spectacles whose protective lenses provide optical correction; (ii) goggles that can be worn over corrective spectacles without disturbing the adjustment of the spectacles; (iii) goggles that incorporate corrective lenses mounted behind the protective lenses. (4) Every protector shall be distinctly marked to
facilitate identification only of the manufacturer. (5) When limitations or precautions are indicated by the manufacturer, they shall be transmitted to the user and care taken to see that such limitations and precautions are strictly observed. (6) Design, construction, testing, and use of devices for eye and face protection shall be in accordance with American National Standard for Occupational and Educational Eye and Face Protection, ANSI Z87.1-1989." 


MAINE MARITIME ACADEMY SAFETY GLASSES/GOGGLES EMPLOYEE AGREEMENT FORM


I,_____ , have read and received training on Maine Maritime Academy Environmental Health and Safety Policy 9.2, concerning personal protective equipment in the form of face and eye protection, and agree that I will abide by the policy. 

Please select and sign one of the following options: 

I elect to receive the $60 biannual reimbursement and understand that I will be responsible for obtaining and paying
for my own safety glasses/goggles. 



Signed Date 



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I elect to continue using Academy provided safety glasses/goggles as outlined in the policy. 



Signed Date